File, binder, and the like



March 20, 1928. 1,662,873

T. F. VA LLEAU FILE, BINDER, AND THE LIKE Filed Jan.28, 1927 INVENTOR M i M By tiorncys,

Patented Mar. 20, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

T OMAS E. VALLEAU, or BROOKLYH, NE YoRx, ASSIGNOR 510 THE Comm COBB COMPANY, or BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, A. coRroRA'rIoNoF NEW YORK.

FILE, BINDER, AND THE LIKE.

Application filed .Taniiary as, 1927. Serial No. 164,162.

The present invention relates to letter files, temporary binders and the like of the type wherein the papers to be filed are received on flexible tongues, said tongues and filed papers being removable as a unit from the binder, and aims to provide certain improvements therein. Devices of this type as conventionally constructed consists of an anchor plate, secured to a cover of the file, adapted, to support a member having a pair of tongues to be pushed through or to receive the papers to be filed, a retaining member having openings through ,WhlCh the tongues are threaded and over which said tongues can v vide an improved and simplified binder of the type described which overcomes the objectionable features inherent in theearl er devices. Specifically, my improved device consists of an anchor plate permanently affixed to a cover of the file, said anchor plate having a resilient lip under which a tongued, flexible member canbe positioned and removably held so that the ends thereof can receive the papers to be filed, a slotted retaining member adapted to be laterally positionable over the filed papers and engage the tongued member, and a latching device pivotally carried by the retaining member,

I adapted to cover said tongues and hold them in bent down position against accidental removal. The invention also embodies other features of novelty which will be hereinafter more fully described.

A preferred embodiment of my inventlon is shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein b Figure 1 is a transverse section of a file embodying my invention, said section being taken on the line 1+1 of Fig; 5.

Fig. 2 is a topplan view of the anchor plate in the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a top plan viewof the invention with the latching member inpartly closed position.

-Fig. 4; is a view similar to Fig. 3 with the latching member in closed position.

Fig. '5 1s a longitudinal section taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, let A, A.indicate the covers of a file ,or hinder, Ban anchor plate afiixed to the cover A, C a tongued member adapted to be mounted on said anchor plate, E the correspondenceor filed papers, F a retaining member for holding the papers E in place, and G a latching member adapted to hold the bent down tongues of the member C against accidental displacement. i a

The anchor plate'B, which is preferably formed of sheet metal, may be directly secured to the cover A, or, as shown in the drawings, it is first afiixed to an intermediate carrier member D by being riveted thereto, as shown at b, after which the carrier member D may be secured to the cover by adhesive or other suitable means. The plate B is formed with lateral slots 6 near its opposite ends, which slotting provides the plate with a lip under which an intermediate portion 0 of the tongued, member C is adapted to be received and held when the correspondence-receiving ends 0 of the tongue are inserted in the slots 1). To effectively hold the member C in said position the lip b is formed near its free edge with detents b or equivalent means which render said edge more rigid and give to the lip as a whole greater resiliency and increased clamping engagement with the cover.

The retainingmember F consists ofa strip of sheet metal formed with a pair of lateral slots f adapted to coincide with the slots in the anchor plate B, said. retaining member. being laterally positionable and slidable over the filed correspondence to engage therends o of the tongued member, which endsare adapted to be bent down to lie flat against said retaining member. To accommodate the bent down ends 0, the retaining member F isformed with a pair of struck-up longitudinal ribs f forming therebetween a in the direction in which the tongued ends are bent down.

To insure against displacement or opening of the bent down tongues whereby they may be injured or do injury to the filed correspondence, I have provided the latching member G, which, as herein shown, consists of a flat strip of metal of substantially the same length as the retaining member to which it is pivotally secured at one end, as shown at g and over which it is movable and adapted to be latched at its other end. The

latching engagement is accomplished through the turning up and over of the end f ofthe retaining member, as best shown in Figs. 3, a and 5, the middle point of said turned up end being provided with a detent or V f adapted to engage and co-operate' with a similarl formed detent g inthe free endof the late ing member G. The corners of the free end of the latching member are preferably rounded so as to readily engage under the lip i upon bringing the latching member intoengaging position from either side. To facilitate the manipulation of the latching member G into and out of latching position, the lateral edges of said member are turned up, as shown at g to provide it with blunt finger-engageable portlons.

In use thetongued member C, which may be in the form of a fiat flexible strip or needle, first has its intermediate portion 0 inserted underv the resilient lip b and its free ends brought through the slots 6 and extended at right angles to the plate B. In this position it is adapted to receive the correspondence or papers E to be filed there-' on. p The retaining member F is then applied over the filed papers to laterally engage the tongues c in the slots Thereafter the tonges c are bent downto lie in the trough formed between the struck-up ribs f in the retaining member, after which the latching member G is moved about its pivot 9 into protecting position over the bentdown tongues and brought into latching engagement with the detent device f of the retain.- ing member. The papers as thus filed are securely held in place against accidental re moval,'as are the tongues 0. i

To add or remove any papers from the hinder, the reverse operations up to the point of bringing the tongues into position for receiving papers are carried out.

When the binder is filled to its capacity or when it is desired to remove the filed correspondence from the file as a unit the member G is first unlatched, the retaining member F is removed and the tongues with the filed papers thereon can be removed from the anchor plate by merely applying a little force thereto in thedirection of the free edge of the lip, which will permit the intermediate portion 0 to become disengaged from under the lip. After this has been done the retaining member F and latch G are re-applied to the tongued ends, as before described, and the filed correspondence as a unit disposed of as desired.

IVhile I have shown anddescribeda preferred embodiment of my invention it will be understood that I do not wish to be limited to the precise construction disclosed, since modifications thereof may be restored to without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim isi 1. A file or binder for correspondence and V the top sheet of the filed correspondence mounted on the tongues to engagethe tongues and adapted to have said tongues bent down to be against sald retaining member, said tongued member, together with the filed correspondence and the retaining member, being removable as a unit from the file base by the removal of the tongued member from the anchor plate.

2; A file or binder for correspondence or the like comprising a file base having an anchor base formed with "a resilient lip mounted thereon, a member having a, pair of tongues upon which correspondence can be mounted, said member having an'intermediate portion removably mounted under the resilient lip on said anchor plate and a slotted retaining member laterally positionable over the top sheet of the filed correspondence mounted on the tongues to engage said tongues, said retaining member being adapted to have said tongues bent down to lie fiat thereagainst, said tongued member, together with the filed correspondence and the retaining member, being removable as a unit from the file base by the removal of the intermediate portion of the tongued member from under the resilient lip on the anchor plate.

3. A file or binder for correspondence and the like comprising a binding tape having an intermediate portion and a pair of end portions constituting tongues upon which correspondence can be mounted, a retaining member having a trough in its top face and having incut slots in one of its longitudinal edges for laterally receiving the tongues, and a latching member carried by the retaining member and movable over the'face thereof, said tongues being: adapted to be bent down over the face of the retaining member and seat in the trough therein and to be held therein against accidental removal by the latching member. i

4. A retaining member for use with files or temporary binders of the type wherein the papers to be filed are received on flexible tongues, consisting of a member having a trough in its top face into which the flexibletongues can lie after being bent down over the retaining member and having incut slots in one of its longitudinal edges for laterally receiving the tongues and a latching member movable and retainable over the face of the retaining member.

5. A retaining member for use with files or temporary binders of the type wherein the papers to be filed are received on flexible THOMAS F. VALLEAU. 

